My wife hates to heel...and complains LOUDLY if she thinks the boat is leaning too much. I am tempted to glue the ball in my inclinometer so it always shows 5 degrees or so. Then when she starts to complain, I can say “Honey, we are only leaning 5 degrees. Enjoy the sail”

I'm with Benny here. Reef at the dock where you can tie it in nice and tight. Go out and enjoy a stress free sail. Enjoy! Get to know how the boat reacts. It beats the hell out of trying to tame a beast. Swells are fine but a chop can make an ugly day - completely different. You do not want to freak out the wife or any other crew. Build your comfort level. All of us have tested our limits and for those who really have, I would venture they wish they hadn't.

I am tempted to glue the ball in my inclinometer so it always shows 5 degrees or so. Then when she starts to complain, I can say “Honey, we are only leaning 5 degrees. Enjoy the sail”

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It won't work. Some wives are built like pinball machines. There's a metal ring in the middle of the machine that has a charged metal ball on a pendulum hanging in the center. They know when someone is trying to cheat the game and the won't hesitate to flash TILT! TILT! TILT! TILT! TILT! and not give you your ball back until you put more money in the slot.

I've got a '90 30T. Had it for 5 yrs good tough boat don't let anyone tell us different. Recently raced in terrible conditions. Gusts 30 knots 10' seas. Mostly ocean race. And I won. Beat all old salty dogs in there Pearson's and J boats. It took like 8 hr abuse and never wined.

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The 30t has the same rig as the 30G which we have. We like the boat a lot. It is a fractional rig and doesn't need a large jib. I've been told it's best under 120%. I don't sail in open ocean, so when waves get over 4 feet here, it's blowing pretty hard. We sail in Puget Sound. Like others have said, your own comfort may dictate when to reef. For us it's over about 15 knots (the Admiral is usually aboard.) Just practice reefing in calm conditions before you need it. That 50 foot mast clearance can certainly heel you over.

We sail in Puget Sound. Like others have said, your own comfort may dictate when to reef. For us it's over about 15 knots (the Admiral is usually aboard.) Just practice reefing in calm conditions before you need it. That 50 foot mast clearance can certainly heel you over.

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I grew up in the Seattle area, love it up there! Don't miss the rain though...lol I have experience reefing my Newport 28 and it was about the same...needed to reef at around 18 knots. If the Admiral was aboard I would reef sooner.

Whatfiero...
This is what I like to hear since I will be doing numerous crossings to Catalina Island. We had been looking for a boat with a walk through transom and swim platform since the wife and I are both divers. We like the Catalina boats but with everything we wanted in a boat the Catalina's were a little out of our budget. Then we found our 30T which was in pristine condition. The former owners were a retired couple that bought the boat just to join the yacht club. They have owned it since 2004 and rarely took it out. The Yanmar diesel only has 325 hours on it and looks brand new as does the rest of the boat. My wife has sailed quite a few times but we bought this boat more for her to actually learn how to sail and be confident with her sailing abilities. We are retiring in 3 years and plan on cruising the Caribbean on something around 45 foot.

You do not want to freak out the wife or any other crew. Build your comfort level. All of us have tested our limits and for those who really have, I would venture they wish they hadn't.

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I think everyone on this thread assumes I'm new to sailing and have never reefed a boat before. I had a Newport 28 I ocean sailed for 4 years, she was a tough old boat and never let me down. The reason I asked when the Hunter should be reefed is due to some of my sailing friends telling me it will need to be reefed in 12 to 15 knot winds and it is a very tender boat. I wasn't going to believe them until I had a little more info on the boat. I have only been on the Sea trail with it and it was a gusty day (15 knots gusts) and the boat sailed perfect and was not healed over much at all. The boat is officially ours but there's 2 through hull valves I want to replace before I sail it up from San Diego to Long Beach.

Yeah I figured they were telling me rubbish. For one, they've never been on a Hunter....two, they don't like production boats since two of them own Hudson Force 50's. But I'll just wave as I sail on past them....lol

Most production boats are optimized to sail in 12 to 15 knots. That's not a bad thing. It's just what their marketing research tells them will work. It's a big over simplification to assume all these boats aren't adjustable enough to handle different conditions.